The Inner Child
by Goddess Of Heather
Summary: A towheaded boy walks into the clinic, who is also his most bizarre case yet. ChaseHouse centric with minor roles from everyone else.
1. When Mom's Away

**Title: The Inner Child 1/8**

**Summary: A tow-headed child walks into the clinic and House runs into his most interesting case yet.**

**Warnings: None. Seriously.**

**Rating: PG**

**AN: This the first story in a series based in the Universe that I'm laying out in this story. Set in season 1-2**

**Chapter 1 **

House didn't want to be in the clinic. He never wanted to be in the clinic. But Cuddy was standing right there glaring at him so he was forced to pick a room.

He glanced across the room at the numbered doors and decided that seven would be his lucky number today. Hmmm. He wondered if he could suddenly become superstitious and couldn't go into rooms with even numbers. He'd still have to do clinic duty but it will make things fun and will surely annoy Cuddy.

He didn't bother grabbing the patient file for clinic room number seven, since he had no plans of reading it any way, and headed over to the room. When he opened the door he discovered that the patient was a tow-headed boy who appeared about eleven or twelve years old.

Damn. Just when he was starting to buy into the whole lucky number thing this had to happen. The kid was just old enough to be really pissy but young enough to come with one or both overbearing and incredibly annoying parental units which land him in the category of the worst kind of patient. However a quick survey of the room produced no adults, so House suspected that mommy dearest was in the bathroom, probably snorting cocaine.

"So what's wrong with you?" He asked tersely as he sat on the small round stool in front of the exam table where the boy had parked himself.

"I think I have a broken clavicle." The boy replied with an accent that quickly garnered his attention.

Hey, an Australian accent. He'd have to think of a way to torment Chase with the boy. Come to think of it, the boy's eyes bore a remarkable resemblance to Chase's. Actually, overall, the boy was a spitting image of Chase. Maybe seven was his new lucky number after all.

"So what's your name?" The question was basic but his curiosity was anything but.

"Robbie."

Ooooookay. Well that certainly upped the ante.

"Your last name?" He continued to ask, barely hiding his anticipation over the child's answer.

The boy winced at that and cast his eyes down before whispering, "Chase."

Holy Beejesus! This kid was Chase's son! Little old though.

"So how old are you?"

"Twelve and half."

Damn. Chase was getting some as a fourteen year old? Holy shit!

"So what makes you think you have a broken clavicle?"

The question had to be asked even though he doesn't really give a flying crap about the answer. The kid was probably wrong anyway, just like most of the morons that come into the clinic claiming to have this or that ailment. Everyone thinks they're a doctor apparently. Especially the sons of doctors.

"It's really painful. I know breaks are hard to detect but it just feels off besides the pain."

Yeah well if it was really painful, which it should be, the kid would be screaming his head off. House highly doubted that Chase-light had a broken bone.

"So where are your parents?" He asked when he finally noticed that it had already been twenty minutes since he entered the room and no parent have yet made an appearance.

"I dunno."

There was a pause and House knew the kid had a question; he just had to wait for him to ask it. He expected it was something like 'do you work with my dad?' or such.

"Is," the boy started to ask before pausing again.

Ah ha!

"This America?" The boy continued.

He knew th-wait what? Was Chase light damaged or something?

"Uh yeah!" He answered; his tone carried his disgust over such a seemingly moronic question.

"Oh okay." The boy replied before looking away, making sure to make little eye contact with him.

Tight lipped little tyke wasn't he? Well an X-ray would give him more time with the boy. Then they could swing by Wilson on the way back. He couldn't resist. This was the juiciest piece of gossip he was ever going to get in his lifetime.

"Okay Robbie lets go." House watched with a critical eye as the boy slid slowly to the floor, not even moving his right side at all. Maybe he was injured in some way, probably a pulled muscle.

They walked through the halls quietly and House was half tempted to make a detour through Diagnostics to see Chase's reaction to Chase-light but then he remembered that Chase was off and had been for two days. He wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning, so maybe House would actually provide a door to door service. Just this once, mind you.

House supposed that for an annoying and whining brat this one wasn't too bad. He just walked along, matching House's pace without making it seem like he was. He stood where House told him to and didn't move for five solid minutes when instructed not to. House was actually rather impressed.

"Damn." House said as he stared at the X-ray he just took. The kid was right.

The fracture wasn't bad and there's not much you can do except to just give him pain relievers. He didn't even need a sling which, House supposed, was a good thing.

House gave Chase-light some painkillers, not as strong as his stuff but after a quick stop to Wilson he'd probably take him to Chase's place so as to not have to deal with a cranky child with a broken bone. He watched as some color came back to the kid's face as he loosened up a bit. House supposed that the kid had been in more pain than he'd thought and his respect for the kid rose another notch. Chase-light was less annoying than most adults he met.

They were slowly walking down the hall when House felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He knew that the momentary peace wouldn't last. Maybe he shouldn't have given the kid painkillers after all, not if it was going to loosen his tongue.

"Can I tell you something?"

House sighed. Damn. It sounded like one of those serious kinds of conversations, like 'my dad doesn't know I exist' not something fun like 'I can burp the whole Australian National Anthem' which House might actually pay money to see. He'd never heard the anthem before and the burping part could only make it more entertaining.

House's leg was hurting him anyway so he directed them over to a set of benches next to a vending machine. "Okay shoot."

Robbie's eyes shifted just a bit and he leaned in. "Promise that you won't think I'm crazy or anything?"

Well this was a little more interesting. He nodded his consent and waited for the boy to continue.

"Swear!"

House held his hand up in the solemn Boy Scout hand position thingy, not that he ever was one, but Junior didn't know that. "I swear."

"I don't remember coming to America."

House raised an eyebrow. What the kid just magically arrived here?

"I went to bed last night in Melbourne Australia, in my bed in my room. And my mom was in her room. But when I woke up I was in an unfamiliar alley, like a dero1."

House winced. It was obvious that the last word was an Australian slang. One which he'd never heard before and didn't have a clue what it meant but he supposed that it wasn't plot salient.

"My shoulder really hurt, so I started to wander around to try and orientate myself. Then I saw a bingle2 and followed the ambo3 back to here. And then I noticed that everyone has been talking funny. Plus I don't even know where I really am or how to reach my parents. I just don't know what happened."

Oh God House started praying that the kid wasn't going to cry. He didn't deal well with snot or tears or any bodily fluid of any kind with the possible exceptions of the kind that involved a lot of fun stuff first.

"Look I promise that I'll help you find your family. I won't abandon you."

House didn't feel bad for promising that, after all he knew where Chase was. And besides the little tyke was starting to really grow on him, like a fungus or something.

"Wilson!" House shouted when he spotted his friend leave his office with a file in his hand, elated at having found his quarry without even trying. The younger doctor, however, had the opposite reaction. Wilson sighed and his shoulders slumped just a bit. House ignored his dramatics and approached him. "Wilson I need a consult."

"House, I actually ha-" Wilson started to say until his eyes landed on Chase-light.

He paused as if shocked that House was actually with a patient. Not only with a patient but holding the kid's hand. Wilson had to wonder if House had a series of mini-strokes and lost feeling in his hand.

"Have patients. What is going on here? " He asked with frank amusement in his voice. "House, are you actually holding that boy's hand?"

House looked down in shock and dropped the hand like it was on fire and he just hadn't felt the heat. A move that would undoubtedly offend any person but he didn't even bother to look contrite.

"Don't be silly! I don't hold hands! I'd rather get lyme disease."

Wilson flicked his eyes briefly to the boy to see how he'd react to House's treatment. He was rather surprised when all the boy did was drop his arm calmly to his side and continued to stand there, face blank, waiting expectantly.

"What's wrong?"

"C'mon," House led them a few feet away, far enough to be out of hearing distance but not so far that House can't watch junior. Not that it matters. House suspects that Robbie would stand there until told to move.

"I think that's Chase's kid."

Wilson's eyes widened in shock and flicked back over to Chase-light.

"There is an uncanny resemblance." Wilson admitted.

"More than that, the kid said his name is Robbie Chase. He has an Aussie accent and he called his collarbone a clavicle."

"Wow. So what are you going to do?"

"Well here's the thing. The kid claims he was asleep in Australia last night and that he woke up here in an alley. Doesn't remember how he got here and there's no indication that he knows his father works here."

"Look, I think you just need to ask him a few more questions, like his parents names, phone numbers to reach them at before jumping to conclusions. C'mon."

Wilson walked up to Robbie and then crouched in front of him. He liked to be on the same level as the young kids; it was less intimidating for them.

"We want to contact your parents. What's your dad's name and phone number? Can you tell us how to contact your mom?"

Robbie squirmed and looked a bit reluctant to give up this information. But he finally spoke up after he seemed to have thought it through.

"My mum's number is 03-745-8221. Sorry I don't know the exchange. Her name is Aderlen. But she never answers the phone; she's usually too full4."

Wilson had no idea what 'full' was but didn't interrupt to ask what Robbie had meant.

"Dad's hard to get in touch with." Robbie said apologetically before brightening a bit at a thought. "But you're doctors! You might get through. His name is Dr. Rowan Chase. He's in Sydney. His number at the hospital is 02-678-0234, but I don't know his extension, sorry." Robbie said, again looking contrite.

Wilson on the other hand was taking this information about as well as to be expected. He sat down right there in the middle of the floor. Better that than to fall down.

"Dr. Wilson? Are you okay? You seem a might pale."

Wilson only nodded; he didn't have enough air to spare verbalizing anything. House on the other hand didn't appear shocked at all.

"So, Robbie, can you tell me what the date is?"

"Sure," Robbie seemed truly puzzled by this inane question. "June 12, 1993. Why?"

"Oh no reason." House mumbled. "C'mon, we're gonna go for a drive."

House and Robbie shuffled off toward the elevator doors but stopped when they noticed that Wilson had remained sitting on the floor.

"Wilson get your ass moving; you're driving!" House shouted before continuing to walk towards the elevators.

Wilson scrambled off the floor and hurriedly followed them out.

The trip there took ten minutes but Robbie had already started to drift off. Poor kid was tuckered out. The small parental part of House, that he would never admit too and when asked about it claimed he'd carefully squashed it with the hatred of small whiney things, loathed to wake Robbie but he also couldn't leave him in the car. So he nudged the blonde boy until he was roused from his sleep.

Robbie was surprisingly less than cranky. House himself would've bitten someone's ear off for waking him up but Robbie just took it.

They headed up to Chase's apartment and House pulled out a key, inserted it into the lock and opened the door.

"You have keys to Chase's place?" Wilson asked incredulously.

House grunted. "I took the keys from each of them and got them copied then put them back. Just in case of emergency you know." House smirked and Wilson just rolled his eyes.

When they opened the door they found that the apartment was a wreck. Papers were strewn about, furniture was turned over. Chase clearly wasn't there and something bad had definitely gone down.

Wilson searched the upstairs while House rummaged through the cupboards. Grabbing one of those chocolate Samoas Girl Scout cookies, he shuffled out into the living room to find Robbie crouched over some papers. He looked...distressed.

"What is it?" House hobbled over and looked down at the papers too. Some were old newspapers. One was a printed article that Chase himself had written and there were other assorted documents as well.

Robbie looked up tears filling his eyes, but not falling. "Something is horribly wrong, isn't there? Something that you're not telling me?"

House stared again into those wide blue-green eyes. Damn kid probably practiced that look in the mirror because no one came across cuteness skills like that without practice.

"I don't know. But I promise to tell you when I know for sure."

Robbie seemed to accept that and wandered over to the window to look out, seemingly not interested in the rest of the apartment.

"Wilson! You found anything?"

Wilson lumbered down the stairs. "Sorry. All I've found out is that something happened here, but I have no clues as to what."

House grunted. He knew now that the answers weren't going to be here. But it wasn't like he didn't suspect that already. "C'mon we're going back to the hospital."

The ride back to the hospital was the same as the ride to Chase's apartment but this time House ordered Wilson to pick Robbie up so that he could continue to sleep. Wilson laid Robbie out on House's couch and covered him with a blanket that was often around the place for when House slept in his office. Robbie mumbled a bit under his breath and curled up tight around the blanket. Wilson thought that it had to be the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

House limped over with a swab and took a sample from the inside of Robbie's mouth. The motion was so smooth Robbie didn't even flinch. But just as he was finished putting away the swab to be tested later Cuddy walked inside.

"House! You hav-"she started to say until House shushed her.

"I'm sorry did you just shush —" she started to say again and this time Wilson and House shushed her together as they watched Robbie stir on the couch.

Finally catching on, Cuddy followed their gazes to the couch and spotted Robbie. "Who's that?"

House looked up and smirked. "He says his name is Robbie Chase. He has an Aussie accent and he knows that a collarbone is a clavicle."

"So what? You think he's Chase's son or something?"

"No." House smirked. Oh how he liked the shock value of it. "I think he is Chase."


	2. Telling the Kids

**Title: The Inner Child 2/8**

**Author: Goddessof7s**

**Summary: A tow-headed child walks into the clinic and House runs into his most interesting case yet.**

**Warnings: None. Seriously.**

**Rating: PG**

**AN: This the first story in a series based in the Universe that I'm laying out in this story. Set in season 1-2**

**Chapter 2: Telling the Kids**

"Okay people, twenty-six year old male, sudden reduction in stature and maturity, making him act and appear twelve years old."

Foreman stared at House, slacked jawed. He was so shocked that he was about to start checking to see if he'd accidentally fallen asleep on some labs or something. Cameron, on the other hand, started to fret that House had dropped LSD again.

Foreman was the first to recover his voice that is after pinching himself. "You're not serious are you? You have a twelve year old that claims to be twenty-six? And you believe him?"

"No," House says rather impatiently. "I have a twelve year old boy who claims to be twelve years old." Foreman rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but House cut him off. "But he also thinks that the year is 1993."

Something occurred to Cameron and she didn't think, just blurted it out. "Shouldn't Chase be a part of this?"

House shot her a scathing look. "He is a part of this, just not this part." Really the two of them had no idea.

Foreman turned to Wilson who had, so far, stood silently in the corner sipping coffee. "Aren't you going to say something to stop this madness?"

Wilson just shrugged and said, "I've often found it better to play along with House's little eccentricities."

Foreman snorted at this and House looked vindicated. "See? Now people differential diagnosis?"

"What?" asked Cameron.

House looked at her as if she was a small child and spoke really slowly and condescendingly, "What could turn a twenty-six year old man into a twelve year old child?"

Foreman tired of the charade piped up, "They're not the same person."

House took what he could get and wrote on the board 'different people'. "Okay not very creative but bonus points for actually saying something productive, even though it's not true. Cuddy is running a DNA contrast just to be sure."

Foreman blinked in shock. "Cuddy is in on this?" That seemed incredibly unlikely to him. Perhaps it was April fools in June or something of that nature.

"I told you that we have a patient. Did you really think that Cuddy would let me get away with something like this? Focus people!"

Cameron never one to not try and prove herself said, "Time travel?"

House cocked his head at her. "Is that a question or a diagnosis?" But he wrote it up on the board anyway.

Foreman sighed but he had to admit that, if he just got into the spirit of things, it probably wouldn't be so bad. But they really should be working on real patients. However House was fixated so he might as well go along until he could get off it. "Cloning?"

"Cloning. Yes good."

"The fountain of youth," Cameron piped up.

"Fountain of youth," House repeated as he wrote it up on the board with a flourish.

"Okay so Cuddy is working on proving or disproving Foreman's first suggestion. That might help with the cloning theory. There was a small .01 percent genetic change in the cloned sheep. However the problem with the cloning theory is the memories thing. Why would he remember the past? Well if it is cloning then they transferred memories somehow."

"Now time travel that shows really possibilities." House thoughtfully tapped the marker against his mouth "As a child his parents were heavy smokers. But later, as an adult, he never smoked or was around people smoking all that much. So, Cameron get a sample of hair and run a chemical analysis on it. If the kid really is from the past then he's been around a chain smoker in the last twenty-four hours and it'd show up in his hair."

Cameron felt a little superior that her suggestions had more merit. But they were the least scientific, so it was curious too.

"Now the fountain of youth, that is the most interesting but I'm not sure how to test for that one. Foreman I want you to run a tox screen. The works. If there's anything foreign in this kid's blood, I wanna know about it. Except Demerol. I gave that to him."

"You drugged a kid?" Foreman asked incredulously.

"Well I gave him drugs. But those were for his broken collarbone. However I don't think his broken collar bone is the reason why he lost fourteen years of his life." House said just as Cuddy strode into the room, hair flying every which way, with an expression on her face that Foreman had never seen before. It was some hybrid breed of shock, disbelief and exasperation. House often caused these emotions in a person, just not usually all at once.

"Damn it House! How is it that you are always RIGHT? Even with something as ridiculous as this!" Cuddy groused before she slammed the test results down on the table. "One hundred percent match." Cuddy dropped into a seat at the table before saying, "It's Chase. God I need a drink."

"WHAT!"

"CHASE?" Foreman and Cameron's voices overlapped

House sighed, "Oh did I forget to mention that the kid's name is Robert Chase?"

"Yeah," Foreman bit out. "You did."

"Oh, well it must have slipped my mind." House replied nonchalantly.

"Has he been admitted?" Cameron asked with concern.

House looked taken aback. "God no! We don't want a paper trail. Who ever did this might find him."

Cuddy looked up at that. "Who ever did this?"

"Oops?" House didn't even bother to pretend to be contrite, not that he ever did. "We might have gone to Chase's apartment."

Cuddy swung her stare over to Wilson who seemed very interested in his coffee cup. "You went with him?"

When it became clear that divining the future from the leftover coffee grounds wasn't going to work, Wilson glanced at House long enough to glare before mumbling, "We thought that Robbie was Chase's son and were taking him over there."

"Besides, when we found the place ransacked, we knew that where ever Chase went, he didn't go easy."

Cuddy dropped her head onto the table with a thunk. "If we tell anyone about this they'll think we're nuts. We've got to figure out what's going on before telling anyone anything."

"Well we've all got out tasks then let's get at." House said as he glanced over his staff and colleagues.

"Umm House what exactly will you be doing?" Cuddy asked with his eyebrow raised.

House sniffed disdainfully. "You people are always trying to get me to visit with patients. I wish that you would make up your minds!" He sighed exasperated and started to head toward his office. Pausing in the doorway he turned, annoyed. "Well aren't you coming? How else will you get the hair and blood samples?"

Cameron scrabbled up to follow while Foreman took a more sedate pace.

Both blinked in shock as House gently sat down beside a small lump curled up on his couch. Some of the shock value of it wore off when he poked the lump sharply.

"Wake up!" House tersely said to the lump.

The lump jerked and a tow headed boy appeared out from under the blanket.

"Yes?" Robbie glanced around at the new people hovering over him and back to House.

"We need samples for some testing." House supplied in a monotone voice.

Blinking owlishly at House Robbie nodded his ascent as he yawned and stretched one arm.

House eyed him critically. "Painkillers wear off?"

Robbie shrugged with one shoulder. "I'm okay."

Judging by the pinched look to the boy's face he was in more pain than he was saying. House decided to slip some to Robbie the first chance he got.

Cameron and Foreman didn't speak as they took the samples, they probably didn't know what to say. Robbie himself didn't talk either or wince as the needle slid into his skin.

As Foreman and Cameron were leaving they heard House ask, "So Robbie, you hungry? Did you get any breakfast?"

"Nah mate. Just a dingo's breakfast1." Robbie responded.

Foreman shook his head as he was leaving wondering when exactly the Twilight Zone stopped being a TV show and started being their life.

House had let Robbie pick out what ever he wanted to eat, so he couldn't believe it when the kid picked out salad and some baked fish. House knew that Chase was kinda compulsive about his diet but he didn't know that it stemmed all the way from childhood. Robbie even had the gumption to glare at House's steak and mashed potatoes. House didn't know what he was upset about; he even paid for the steak!

House waited until Robbie had really started to make inroads on his food before speaking. "We need to talk about what's going on."

Robbie looked up from his plate; at this point he was mostly just pushing the last few leaves of lettuce around. "I think I figured out some of it."

House raised an eyebrow at this wondering just how much the kid figured out.

"At the apartment, there was some mail on the floor. I saw my name on them. Also I saw the date on the newspaper. I know that I'm supposed to be older; I just don't know how it happened. Or what will happen. I mean my parents didn't really want to raise me the first time let alone again." Robbie said before looking away with tears pooling in his eyes which he scrubbed angrily from his face.

Dammit! It was those damn eyes! House has, up until this time, been able to maintain a certain emotional distance from their current mystery. However, as he spends more time with the altered version of his blonde employee, he finds himself thinking about him beyond the scope of the problem.

"Look I made a promise and I'm not going to renege on it." House could practically hear Wilson standing over his shoulder whispering 'And the Grinch's heart grew by 3 sizes.' Oh wait that was Wilson.

"What are you doing here?" House turned around to stare at Wilson.

"What I can't eat lunch?" Wilson asked, failing miserable at looking innocent.

House sighed in exasperation but slid his lunch tray over anyway. Wilson, sensing how hard this all was for Robbie to face at once, filled up the space with some of his best patient stories involving an old woman named Mrs. Nezzbit.

**Aussie Slang**

1. A yawn, a leak and a good look round (i.e. no breakfast)


	3. Kids and Their Toys

Title: Kids and Their Toys

Series Title: The Inner Child 3

Author: Goddessof7s

Summary: A tow headed boy wanders into the Clinic and the team has its most interesting case yet.

Rating: PG

Notes: Now I would like to warn all of you fans who like plausible stories, with no fiction except characters. This is not the story for you! This will require heavy suspension of dis-belief, YOU ARE WARNED! Flames regarding scientific accuracy will be printed to be scoffed and mocked in front of all my friends!

Warnings: There is no slash in this story. It is more of a character study. Major characters are Chase and House with bit roles from everyone else.

House couldn't take it anymore, "I'm going home!"

Cameron looked up, hair limp and eyes drooping, "What? Why?"

House sighed. "We've gotten nowhere!" House gestured at the board and the fact that three of the four diagnoses were marked off leaving only fountain of youth. "We might've disapproved the other possibilities but there is no way to prove the last one. Where would you even start? I'm going home to sleep in my bed and shower in my shower." House looked in the other room at his couch, he couldn't see the lump curled up on the couch but he knew it was there. "Besides," House gestured expansively to his office. "Robbie can't continue to sleep on the couch in my office." He started limping toward his office. Opening the door he turned for one last parting shot. "I thought we'd change it up and have him sleep on my couch at home."

Poking the lump on the couch House watched disinterested as Robbie popped up from underneath the blanket. "C'mon we're going home." Robbie obediently followed House and Cameron watched them go, half excepting Robbie to drag the blanket after him like a woobie, but he didn't. Cameron wouldn't tell anyone but she felt jealous that House was opening himself up more to Robbie than he ever would with her. She sighed with longing as she spotted House absent-mindedly place a hand on Robbie's head and lead him into the elevator. When she threw herself back into the test results she managed to fool herself into thinking it was only her drive to help Chase that caused her to work with such fervor.

It didn't take long for House to make up the couch while Robbie showered and changed into an extra shirt that House had given him. House almost collapsed on the couch he'd just made up, it suddenly hitting him that he'd taken into his home a kid! Okay so the kid was actually his 26 year old fellow turned into a 12 year old child. One that was quiet, unobtrusive and constantly afraid of being rejected. House supposed that was one of the reasons he'd brought Robbie home, he'd promised the kid, albeit when he thought that the most complicated it was going to get would be to drive the kid to his father's house.

It'd become a little more complicated then that, but watching a 12 year old kid who teetered on the edge of an abyss he couldn't help but understand. House could relate to having your world ripped away from you. He just couldn't conceive of how Robbie was managing to remain so stable. The least he could do was keep a promise to a kid that had had all promises made to him broken. Settling Robbie on the couch wasn't hard, the Demerol he'd been slipping Robbie for his broken collarbone was making him sleepy and perhaps a little complacent. Robbie smiled up at him, hair damp and flopping into his face, sleepy, "Thank you," and reached his good arm around House and pulled him close in a half hug something House would normally never allow but managed to make himself relax enough to permit this small bit of comfort. The soft quiet, "Thank you," issued against his ear again and he knew he'd done the right thing.

House unbent and watched as Robbie curled in on himself as he would when going to sleep, "Your welcome." Robbie smiled softly, just a bit with his eyes closed and House shoved the fluttery feeling hovering in his heart away as something that wouldn't last and only hurt him and when he lay down in bed he told himself that he wasn't really thinking about the warm weight of Robbie in his arms or the parental feelings it provoked.

House hated waking up. That nasty, dried bacteria taste to one's mouth, the cramping pain in his leg, bed hair, the whole thing was thoroughly undignified so when he woke up reached for his pills and found them missing he thought it was odd, but he had another stash in the kitchen and it was much more worth while to get the pills first then think about the one's that were missing. The scene in the kitchen that greeted him was wholly unexpected. Of course he'd forgotten about Robbie and bringing him home the previous night, but it certainly all came flooding back. Along with this delicious aroma that he assumed was emanating from the pan in front of Robbie on the stove.

At the sound of House's footsteps Robbie turned and beamed, "Good you're up! Brekkie1 is almost ready!" Robbie directed House to a chair with a glass of orange juice and a pill that looked suspiciously like Vicodin in front of it. House sat and then picked up the pill and examined it to determine if it actually was Vicodin. Deciding yes he swallowed it and waited for the drugs to hit his system. After a few minutes he felt the drugs taking the edge off the pain making it less sharp and prominent. It was right around this time that Robbie slid an omelet in front of House along with a fork. Just looking at it made House salivate. As House saw it he had two options at this point, ask Robbie about the pills and make a big bru ha ha about it and let this absolutely delicious omelet go cold or eat the omelet and then make a big bru ha ha about the pills. House was nothing if not self servant. The omelet was just as good as it smelled. analyzing the contents he discovered tomatoes, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Three of these things he was positive weren't in the house and another that was probably really questionable in it's veracity. At this point he didn't really care, but he was going to ask just not when it would cause the cheese to congeal.

The silence was nice, House supposed that any other kid would be busy running their mouth about this or that but Robbie seemed content to eat in silence. House was scrapping the last of melted cheese off the plate with a finger when he asked, "So where'd some of this stuff come from?"

Robbie got up from the table and started to clear it. "I went to the store. Last night on the ride home I noticed a grocer right up the road," Robbie scowled at him as he took House's plate, "you need to take better care of yourself."

"About that," Robbie started to run water in the sink and clean the dishes, "why did you take my pills?"

Robbie turned soapy dish in one hand and sponge in the other, "You take too many of those pills. You have too many of them too." Robbie turned back to the plate and scrubbed furiously and House felt a chill of understanding wash through him. Suddenly he didn't have the heart to make a big deal about the pills, not now that he understood. He'd just get Wilson to get him a new script or find one of his stashes.

Leaving Robbie to the comforting act of cleaning House took a shower and changed. When he got out there was a stack of clean clothes on his bed. Folded that he was positive had been dirty, but his favorite t-shirt was in the stack so he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Wandering out to the living room he said, "Hey Robbie, did you wash my laundry be-" and paused as he took in his spotless living room. Robbie was apparently finishing up by folding the bedding and neatly stacking it.

Robbie turned and looked up, "I had to wash my clothes so I went ahead a did a whole load." He bit his lip pensively.

House forced himself not to frown knowing what that would to the kid, "No, no it's fine thank you." Then it occurred to House that Robbie only had one set of clothes, the one's he was currently wearing. He'd been in them for over 48 hours, no wonder they needed to be cleaned. Well he'd been out of them for an hour or two while the team combed them over with a fine tooth comb to see if there were any hints as to what happened or were Robbie had been. Robbie's distaste of the peds "paper pj's" was almost worth the disappointment of losing another lead. Loathe as he was to do it, it was apparently necessary, "C'mon we're going shopping."

Robbie walked along side, "Are we going to Vinnie's2?"

House looked down at him, "Vinnie's?"

Robbie rolled his eyes, "You know the thrift store?"

"God no wonder your wardrobe is hideous!"

Robbie looked up in confusion, "Huh, what?"

"Never mind kid." House had to wonder though why someone like Chase who grew up in a rich family ever felt the need to shop at a thrift store.

House hadn't ever been shopping for kids before and he went to the only place that was sure to have the right size of clothes, the 5th circle of hell. I.e. the mall. House hadn't been to a mall in over ten years and the fact that he was dragging himself through this debasement of humanity showed how much the kid had grown on him. Dammit he might actually be getting attached.

The shopping was less mind numbingly painful than he expected. House picked the first kid's clothing store and told Robbie to pick out three pairs of pants and five shirts. Robbie quickly left to get a feel for the American system of sizing and House picked out a pack of socks and underwear. They needed enough to get by, but only until they could figure out what happened to Chase. House had to focus on the fact that they were going to change Robbie back into Chase. Otherwise he didn't know what he was going to do.

He was standing there waiting impatiently when a very attractive woman in her thirties walked over. "So are you here with your kid?"

House looked her over and at her hopeful expression, "Why yes I am." Hmm he hadn't considered the whole babe aspect of the thing. He should have known there would be a way to work the situation to his advantage, besides getting free breakfast and his house cleaned.

Robbie walked up with his clothes draped over one arm. "Okay I'm finished." The woman looked a bit startled at Robbie's accent and then her eyes narrowed in consideration at Robbie's looks, House suspected that he might be busted. He decided to try and salvage the situation, maybe get pity sex or something.

"Robbie this is,"

"Jeanette," Ah the wonders of etiquette just hand your name right over.

"Jeanette this is my son Robbie." Robbie's eyes widened briefly before falling into placid face, he stuck out his hand and offered to shake Jeanette's.

"Nice to meet you Ma'am."

"And it's nice to meet you." Jeanette crouched down and started to speak slower and condescendingly. "That's a nice accent, where'd you get it."

Robbie scoffed and looked at House incredulously, as if to say, 'is she for real?' "Me Mum, she's Australian. Dad married her," Robbie started to fib as if sensing Jeanette's doubt. "But he's not my biological dad. He takes care of me though since Mum died of cancer."

The woman shocked and feeling guilty now for suspecting House of playing her turned all sympathy and sweetness, but House had no interest in her any more. Despite her beautiful appearance he was almost positive that she would want to talk about his 'late wife' before sex and she almost certainly would be one of those gooey baby talkers in bed. Yuck, what a turn off.

"Well sorry we really must dash. Important widow stuff." House turned and murmured to Robbie low enough, "You've already paid for the clothes with the money I gave you right?" Robbie nodded his ascent. Good House hated to ruin a excellent exit.

As soon as they had exited the store, Robbie turned to House, "I can't believe that you wanted her." His tone dripping with disdain. House was a bit shocked at this display of emotions, either Robbie was starting to really open up or he really didn't like that woman. Not to mention that despite the fact that he didn't like her he was still going to help House nail her. When did Chase lose that wonderful ability to lie convincingly at the drop of a hat?

"She's attractive!" House said defensively.

"Oh sure, but after you bang her she'd be the kind to 'honey buns' or some such nonsense and want to move in with you." Wow, House was just shocked at Robbie's vulgar language. He also thoroughly agreed with the boy. "I mean that woman certainly wasn't there to be a decent mother."

Now that was interesting, "What makes you think that?"

Robbie scoffs, "Her purse. Too small. Only enough room for a compact and a lippy3."

"So?" House liked a woman that traveled light.

"So, good mothers carry stuff like handkerchiefs, Tylenol, and small toy cars for kids to play with if they get bored. She was there shopping, but not for clothes." House felt a little sad to realize that Robbie's mom had probably never carried anything more than her compact and lipstick. They walked in silence for a while making their way back to the entrance when Robbie stopped and said he was going to the bathroom really fast. House paused and realized that Robbie was at least kind enough to stop next to some benches, House's leg was really starting to act up and stiffen, and House vowed that the next stop would be the hospital and Wilson or he might end up going back on his promise to not get upset with Robbie about the pills. Almost five minutes later House was wondering exactly how long it took to empty a bladder that was smaller than his fist when Robbie appeared beside him. "I saw how stiff your leg was," Robbie passed him a paper cup with water and a Vicodin. House wondered briefly if he could wrangle another one out of Robbie but opted to leave it alone.

"Thank you." House knocked back the pill and the water and they sat on the bench in silence waiting for the pill to work. Finally House decided that it'd been long enough, "so where did you get the money for the groceries?"

Robbie looked down a bit, nervous, "I went through my locker at work, or that is to say Chase's locker," House and consequently Robbie had gotten in the habit of referring to Chase the older and Robbie as two different people. Robbie clearly feared repercussions for going through his grown up self's locker.

House laughed and patted Robbie on the shoulder. "I don't think that anyone is going to accuse you of stealing from yourself. C'mon we'd better get a move on." His leg was even less stiff than he thought it would be. Walking along they passed a toy store and now that House had a Vicodin flowing through him was feeling much more amicable. "Why don't we stop in here?" House waved his hand.

Robbie shrugged a bit lopsided, but his shoulder was clearly feeling better, "Okay."

House immediately wandered over to the games section looking for a new gameboy game that might spark his interest. Robbie hadn't been interested in the machine when he'd showed it to him. House suspected it was just another strange thing to go along with his whole world at this point. House slowly drifted closer to where Robbie was to see what had caught his interest. House knew that Robbie wouldn't ask for anything, too afraid of imposing, of rejection, of finding out that if he asked for it House wouldn't care enough to get it for him.

When House saw him staring longingly at a cheap soccer ball that wouldn't cost more than ten dollars with tax he knew he'd end up buying it. No wonder he'd never had kids, they're damn expensive. He vowed to get Chase to pay him back for all this stuff when they turned him right. House snatched one of the soccer balls off the shelf and told himself he wasn't getting soft he was finding something to entertain the kid and keep him out of his hair. He walked briskly up the aisles toward the cashier causing Robbie to hurry to catch up, "What are you doing?"

House looked down at Robbie, "What do you think, five months of training and I could be the next Mia Hamm." Robbie blinked in confusion and House realized that Robbie wouldn't know about her she didn't become well known until '94 and famous until '96. "I thought you might like to play a little footie. Isn't that what you Brits call it?"

"I'm Australian."

"Same difference." And the routine of the conversation relaxed House a bit and made Robbie relax too. At least enough to accept a non-practical gift like a simple soccer ball.

House left Robbie practicing with the soccer ball in his office, he doubted that Robbie would lose control of the ball enough to break something, but there wasn't anything of importance out, like a TV or anything, and he went in search of Wilson. It turned out he didn't have to go far apparently Wilson was searching for him.

"Where have you been it's 4 in the afternoon! Cuddy is furious!"

House winced, "Look I took the kid home last night, I wanted to sleep, there was nothing that I could do here anyway. Then we went shopping."

Wilson raised an eyebrow at this, "You shopping?"

House sighed, "He needed some different clothes. We have to face facts, we aren't going to solve this over night. We need something semi-permanent."

"And what you want that to be you?" Wilson was starting to wonder if Greg had been sniffing glue when he wasn't working.

"No not really, but despite the fact that Robbie is acting like he's doing fine, he's really scared to death. I'm the one that found him and promised him that he'd be okay and right now I'm the only stability that he can conceive of. Point of fact, he took my pills."

"WHAT! And you haven't killed him yet?" Okay after House leaves he's so searching his office for illicit narcotics.

"He's been doling them out." House answered impatiently, "He's just worried about me. I managed to get a hold of his files. And his parents files. To him in the last year he's had to get his mom to the hospital for accidental overdoses and alcohol poisoning at least 3 times." Wilson whistled in shock. "Yeah," House scrubbed his hand across his face as he realized how deep he was in. Robbie had latched onto him and wasn't about to let go of the one thing he knew and understood in this very new world: taking care of a drug addict. A good portion of House didn't want to let him go either. So he wouldn't. God, it was practically a match made in heaven.

"Look just give me a script for the pills, I'll find a place where the kid can't get to them." Although House had to admit the kid was good, he'd found all five of the places at home that had House's stashes. It made him wonder if he was wasting Chase's talents and if he shouldn't have had him breaking in more than Foreman. "Then I'll go deal with Cuddy." Who surprisingly wasn't that hard to turn to his side of things. Especially when House painted that heart-warming picture of Robbie with those big solemn eyes and how he wasn't ever going to ask for that ball. Score! Sometimes people were too easy.

"Fine you're off clinic duty. But I have to have you do something, if you don't have an official patient and you're not in the clinic then I need you to teach a class." House made a face. "Oh please it'll take up an hour and half of your day three times a week. And you can take Robbie in with you. He seems well-behaved enough."

"Fine." House sighed and acted defeated, inside he couldn't believe how fast Cuddy had caved, no clinic duty indefinitely! That was so worth putting up with Robbie.

Aussie Slang:

1 Brekkie- Breakfast

2 Vinnie's- St. Vincent De Paul's (charity thrift stores and hostels)

3 Lippy- Lipstick


	4. What Makes Good Boys Good

Title: What Makes Good Boys Good

Series Title: The Inner Child 4

Author: Goddessof7s

Summary: A tow headed boy wanders into the Clinic and the team has its most interesting case yet.

Rating: PG

Notes: Now I would like to warn all of you fans who like plausible stories, with no fiction except characters. This is not the story for you! This will require heavy suspension of dis-belief, YOU ARE WARNED! Flames regarding scientific accuracy will be printed to be scoffed and mocked in front of all my friends!

Warnings: There is no slash in this story. It is more of a character study. Major characters are Chase and House with bit roles from everyone else. UNBETAED

Everyone say thank you to Jules-foil for if she hadn't nudged I might not have pulled this back out. Let know if you guys are digging it.

Gregory House found himself surfing the internet. A wholly boring and thankless job that he usually regulated to one of his ducklings, but couldn't bring himself to do so this time. Worried as he was that something might get missed, but then you'd think that if some one discovered the fountain of youth that there would be something, House was sure there was. The question was what. House hissed slowly under his breath massaging his leg roughly. He desperately wanted to dry swallow a couple of Vicoden but he was still unable to figure out where Robbie was stashing the pills. Every time he got a new prescription the next day it was gone. While Robbie was napping or in the shower he'd searched the kids clothes, shoes, hell he'd even tested the soccer ball for a hidden compartment, but it seemed that anything less than a strip search wouldn't work. Wilson was even enabling damn the man! 1:30 fuck, class.

"C'mon Robbie" House directed at the boy lounging on his sofa doing a cross word. Heavens knows where he got it. Probably rummaging through Chase's locker. House almost sighed with exasperation as Robbie picked up his soccer ball and followed him down the hall. Everywhere Robbie went he brought that damn ball with him.

Oh well it wasn't like Robbie owned a whole lot, really he was just grasping the few things he possessed with a vengeance. He walked into the lecture hall that was standing room only with amazement. He whispered to Robbie, "it seems we're popular." Robbie nodded dumbly wide eyed at the crowd. "Well apparently it's all the fad to be in my class."

A brown-noser that sat in the front row piped up, "when it got around that you were actually teaching a diagnostic class for the whole semester the class filled up. Some of us are here and aren't even getting credit." She was probably one of them and got there an hour early to grab a seat. She had that smug seat-getting air about her.

"Well lets get down to it since you know who I am and I don't care who you are then we can proceed." House turned away and directed this to Robbie, "you can sit over there if you'd like or play with your ball quietly." Robbie nodded solemnly and taking his ball walked off the stage area. Everyone's eyes followed him. "I see you've all spotted my mother's brother's daughter's cousin twice removed. His name is Robbie." He glared at them all. And started in on his standard pain in the leg lecture. This he felt drove home three basic and most important things: patients lie even with their life on the line, doctors can be wrong, and thoroughness can be good, bad and expensive all at the same time.

He had started to get into the bite on the leg of the Carmen Electra when he noticed that the quite and steady thud thud thud of Robbie's ball was absent. Glancing over he saw that Robbie was holding the ball with a thoughtful look to his face, as if he was thinking about asking a question. 'Yes Robbie?"

All the eyes in the class turned to the boy, who seeing this blushed and looked down, "It's just that, what did the snake bite look like?"

Huh. Chase hadn't asked that. But then now that House thought about it he hadn't told Chase about the bite per sec or showed it to him. Rather called and ordered him and Foreman to go and get the snake, not mentioning the suspect nature of the bite. "It was a single puncture, shallow a glancing blow."

Robbie looked at him seriously. "It doesn't sound like snake bite."

One of the students in the class snorted, sounded female, maybe smug seat girl, but it served to put Robbie on the angry defensive. House didn't ever use the word cute and mean it without being violently sarcastic, but really there were very few words that could adequately describe a 4 foot three inch flashing eyed Robbie Chase whose hair continually flopped in his face. So House just didn't try. It was defiantly smug-seat girl that said, "what are you an expert on snake bites or something?"

"A month ago my friend Mal and I were walking home and he got bitten by a brown snake, he nearly died. Australia has almost a hundred venomous snakes and the 10 deadliest." While that was hardly an expert level it was more knowledge than smug seat girl, and they both knew it. Smugness looked much better on Robbie.

"People this is sad! A 12 year old is out diagnosing you!"

Suitably chagrin they turned their attention back to House and focused intently, in vain, to impress House. Smug seat girl has been shot down and House hopes that she's been suitable discouraged enough to either sit in the back or not come back. Another less annoying voice piped up, "so does that mean that Robbie is right?"

"Ahh well he's certainly asking smarter questions than you lot." House snorted dismissively and continued with the lecture/discussion which despite having different students in the class the content didn't change much. No one got the muscle death, but then he wasn't very hopeful in the first place. All of the students seemed suitable impressed and chagrined by the end. A few even looked a little queasy perhaps from the idea that, yes, indeed people's lives would be in their hands and that they would kill a person at some point. Robbie however didn't look affected, perhaps a little vindicated in that he was right, but then at this point he probably didn't want to be a doctor and didn't think that these lectures affected him personally.

House froze momentarily in mid-stride. It hit him, really hit him, that Robbie wasn't Chase. That if they didn't find a way to reverse it (which didn't look likely they couldn't even figure out what cause it) then Robbie would grow up different. Maybe this time he would be a priest, or a professional athlete. Who knows what changes might come from not watching his mother slowly kill herself, or a father that barely acknowledges his existence. Robbie was a REAL KID! This wasn't Stevie McQueen some random rat that he picked up. This wasn't his adult duckling in convenient child-sized packaging. This was a 12 year old boy who probably already had all kinds of emotional problems on top of being displaced in time and space. And he wanted to accept responsibility for him? God, he could barely take care of himself. Actually now that he thought about it, Robbie had been taking better care of him than he was of himself. House resolved to give it a week in trying to figure out what happened before they looked for somewhere more permanent for Robbie.


	5. Alterboys

Title: Alterboys

Series Title: The Inner Child 5

Author: Goddessof7s

Summary: A tow headed boy wanders into the Clinic and the team has its most interesting case yet.

Rating: PG

Notes: Now I would like to warn all of you fans who like plausible stories, with no fiction except characters. This is not the story for you! This will require heavy suspension of dis-belief, YOU ARE WARNED! Flames regarding scientific accuracy will be printed to be scoffed and mocked in front of all my friends!

Warnings: There is no slash in this story. It is more of a character study. Major characters are Chase and House with bit roles from everyone else. UNBETAED

Okay big thanks to everyone who reviewed. I didn't reply because I figured I could be writing or I could be replying and I figured that a new part would be answer enough. Little short but we're getting closer to the end game.

It was late in the morning when House woke up. Scratch that, early afternoon when he actually rolled out of bed. Still half asleep he reached for his pills before he remembered Robbie the drug warden. Two days ago House had tried to wheedle an extra pill out of him and yet the boy stood firm. Oh sure anything else and the boy caved like a house of cards but one tiny little white pill and you'd think he was giving up his life savings. Of course Robbie some how always knew when House was truly in a lot of pain and needed the pills, but that didn't stop House from his habit of wanting them. He was however some what surprised to find that he often reached for the pills when he didn't need them. He was starting to realize how much of a defense mechanism they were and that he often went for them from habit if nothing else. Cursing he hopped limped into the kitchen hoping for some extra pity and cheese with his omelet when his nose registered the fact that the kitchen was remarkably Robbie-less. There was also a distinct lack of delicious aromas of which he'd already become accustomed too.

Limping around the small apartment yelling for Robbie he quickly assessed his absence and cursed the boy for his damn independence and drug stealing ways. House flopped into a kitchen chair with a thud and a dejected moan. He rubbed aimlessly at his eyes and tried to remember if he had a stash of liquor anywhere in the apartment that Robbie might not have found. He let his head drop to the table with a crunch and winched at the sharp pain that emanated from his forehead. Wait crunch? Feeling his forehead he found two pill fragments still stuck to his skin which he promptly swallowed and then examined the table more closely where he found a note in plain view. Glancing quickly around to check for anyone watching he quickly licked the paper where the pill had been broken. It tasted dry and bitter.

'House,

I went to mass at Our Lady of Faith. I left a Vicoden for you and oatmeal on the stove, you just need to reheat it. I'll be back after service.

Robbie'

Huh. It was Sunday wasn't it? That would make it a little over 2 weeks that Robbie had walked into the clinic all kiddified and he still didn't feel any closer to what had happened.

He dragged the bowl of oatmeal into the livingroom and reclined on the couch laptop and oatmeal perched on his chest. Ahh nothing screamed luxury more than laying down and eating a meal. Now all he need was a stiff scotch, although the cinnamon that Robbie put in the oatmeal was quite tasty as well. If he closed his eyes and ignored the texture it could almost but not quite be entirely unlike cinnamon schnapps. House scowled at the computer. He'd searched just about every medical, scientific and academic oriented newsgroup, newspaper, magazine and yahoo!group there was. If he didn't get a break soon he might be reduced to rifling through suspect company's garbage or reading the bathroom walls of various labs in the area.

That's when it hit him. He could have been knocked over with a feather if it weren't for the fact that he was already laying down. He'd been looking in all the wrong places. If there had been a fountain of youth found or even suspected the slightest hint of actual scientific evidence then everyone would know about it. No if he was going to find a paper trail it was going to be in some cheap tabloid that had stories about bigfoot, the Bush-Alcaida conspiracy, and J-Lo's butt lift. Well okay so sometimes they had the truth, there's no way that those cheeks were that gravity defining naturally. But that was beside the point he need to get to the library and fast.

Fortunately by the time that he was out of the shower Robbie was back. House took a moment before pulling on his t-shirt to take in Robbie post mass. His eyes shone a bit and he certainly looked more relaxed but over all he didn't seem too different. House didn't like those organized religions, because c'mon it's only one step away from a cult. But Robbie seemed to be one of the few Catholics who celebrated his religion rather than mourned it. Of course at this point in his life he hadn't seen his parents die or be forced into a career that he wasn't interested in. Well House wasn't going to waste anymore time analyzing Robbie because he knew the solution was right at his finger tips and he didn't want to waste anymore time. Although when Chase was back he would miss those delicious pancakes he made. Perhaps he can wheedle a few more out of gratefulness for curing him. Hell that should be worth at least a month of breakfasts.

Two and half hours into the micro film of the National Enquirer when House hit the jack pot. There it was on the second page some Dr. Franlison, or Franknfurter or Frankenstein who knows the point was the picture of him had Joe's Bait Shop in the background which despite it's name was actually a pub with a mean micro brew, he knew where that was and all he had to do was pick up a little muscle and then he'd be on his way.

They'd all piled into Wilson's car, House riding shotgun with Foreman and Cameron in the back. House wasn't sure why Cameron had insisted on coming, he told her that her high pitched girly screams would only be a distraction and that haranguing the doctor about his lack of morals wouldn't really help to disarm him but she just glared and climbed in. Robbie had been left with Cuddy who was waiting for a call from House who would tell her that it was safe to bring him. In less than an hour they were outside an old warehouse that looked a step away from being condemned. House muttered under his breath about the predictability of the bad guys and how cliche it was. How he should have just trolled the warehouse district until he spotted the suspicious looking man in the white lab coat lurking about.

Instead they walked up and banged on the door. House was just about to order Foreman to use is keen lock picking skills on the door when it slid open to reveal the man from the picture.

Cuddy had been in the middle of doing some much needed and though she would never admit it, relaxing paper work when House had dropped Robbie off. The boy had quickly found a spot in the corner and quietly doodled in some crossword. He had in fact been so quite that Cuddy had truthfully forgotten that he was there. It wasn't until she had finished Sheffield's request for a new autoclave that she looked up and saw that he was missing. Frantically she ran into the hall to see if she could spot him. She checked all the places in the hospital that he would be familiar with and she was about to get hospital security involved when she thought of one last place. There he was in the chapel staring up at the cross, lips moving silently as he mouthed the words to a Latin prayer. Thank God. She didn't think that he would have left the building but it was still disconcerting.

Rather than call to him and break the stillness of the chapel she approached his pew and sat beside him. After a few minutes he looked over at her eyes bright, "am I happy?"

She startled at the question unsure of the answer that he was looking for. He repeated for her benefit as he saw her hesitate, "Is Chase happy, with his life, where he is?" She opened her mouth, to say what she wasn't sure but Robbie wasn't looking at her anymore and he just seemed to open up like a damn inside him broke. "I just I didn't expect to be a doctor, to be here in the states, nothing is how I planned it to be."

He looked back at her and the light from the stained glass hit his cheek just right and for a second his tears looked like blood. "Oh sweetie, life never turns out how we plan it."

She pulled him close and could feel the hot tears on her shirt. His voice muffled was still clear from where he spoke. "I pray for him you know."

"Who? Your older self?"

"No. For House."

Cuddy stroked his silky hair and rubbed his back, "so do I sweety, so do I."


	6. Someone's been a bad bad boy

Title: Someone's been a bad bad boy

Series Title: The Inner Child 5

Author: Goddessof7s

Summary: A tow headed boy wanders into the Clinic and the team has its most interesting case yet.

Rating: PG

Notes: Now I would like to warn all of you fans who like plausible stories, with no fiction except characters. This is not the story for you! This will require heavy suspension of dis-belief, YOU ARE WARNED! Flames regarding scientific accuracy will be printed to be scoffed and mocked in front of all my friends!

Warnings: There is no slash in this story. It is more of a character study. Major characters are Chase and House with bit roles from everyone else. UNBETAED

A reviewer commented on House seeming too soft too fast, so I thought I would give ya'll some insight into what is actually going on in House's head. House's softness seems to happen without him realizing it. Small steps where he thinks "hell two more days with the brat and we'll have it figured out" "Just one more week then we'll pull some one else in to take care of him." In the end House is rationalizing Robbie with the time off from the clinic, food and cleaning, but the real reason he keeps him around is to solve the mystery. What I would be worried about is what happens when that mystery is solved. House doesn't look too far in the future about these things so what happens when they figure out what happened? No more mystery but will Robbie be able to be changed back?

House found that he was disappointed. Here the bad guy was all cliche and stereotyped but the inside of the warehouse just looked like a warehouse. Sure it was a little neater than expected, but there was no bubbling beakers with fun colors or cackling deformed henchmen groveling after the man. Rather than be upset he actually seemed relieved.

"So where's the tea and cookies?" The rest of the team looked sideways at House wondering about the man's mind. "Oh please. It's clear that he's excepting us. He had to know that some one would investigate a shrunken kiddified adult."

The doctor started to squirm under the collective stares of the group. "Well I suppose that's true, I have been waiting for something to happen, I just wasn't sure what to except. The lack of police was quite a relief I assure you."

House pulled out his cell phone. "Don't think that can't be remedied." House waved the phone in the air.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

House paused at the threating tone. He strode forward and poked the man in the chest with his cane. "I don't think your in the position to be making threats, bub. Oooo, I always wanted to do that. Wolverine makes it sound much cooler."

A general exclamation of "House!" seemed to focus the man.

"Right menacing and confrontational." House shifted stances and glared in that rather unique way he had. House was rarely serious. Condesinding, bored, irritating and irreverent but hardly ever serious. That's how Wilson knew that House really did care for Robbie for him to be knuckling down like this. Or perhaps it was how close the solution was that spurned him on. "Why exactly should I not call the police and have your ass locked in a cell with a large hairy man named Bubba? Don't think I can't–I have mob connections!"

The man smirked and had the audacity to not be cowed by his poking and mostly serious tone. "Actually I think that you can't afford to have the police involved if you don't want young Chase cut open and dissected." House blinked in shock and anger but managed to take a step back considering Franklison's words. Franklison smirked knowing that he had gotten the upper hand.

"Just so that we're all clear. I never meant for this to happen. It wasn't suppose to work like it did, and I can't figure out what went wrong."

"How did you even know we were here about Ro-Chase?"

Franklison's gaze swung over to Wilson. "I was watching from a window. I saw your Princeton-Plainsboro teaching hospital parking pass in the window. Why else would you be here?"

Franklison took a deep, steadying breath and House braced himself for the requisite bad guy monologue about his nefarious plans and how he was going to take over the world with an army of small children. He was going to have to resist making snarky comments if he wanted to glean any information from the scientist.

"They all said I was crazy you know. That it couldn't be done, but I had seen it work on a small scale before." As Frankilson talked his gaze seemed to turn inward and House expected that any second he would start cackling and exclaiming about how he showed them. House had to bite his lip to keep from interrupting. "I spent two years perfecting the machine. Everything was set and all I needed was little more funding and a test subject. That's why I sold my story to the Enquirer. I'd seen that young man jogging past the warehouse before so I knew he was fit. I didn't start to really think about he as a subject until I over heard a conversation he was having with an old woman in the grocery store. When I learned that both his parents had cancer I knew he was perfect."

Cancer? House's mind raced trying to put the dots together what did cancer have to do with a fountain of youth? The answer was right there he could feel it and then it hit him. It made him want to throttle the doctor even more. It also made him curious because there was no way it should have worked if Franklison did what House thought he did.

Cameron was going frustrated however with letting Franklison set the pace, "Why not some hobo or something? Why did it have to be Chase?"

House answered for him, "You needed a clean test subject right? One that was fit and wasn't on a lot of drugs. Lots of procedures would work better with a person that doesn't actually need it, like liposuction. You did something to Chase's DNA didn't you? Or at least the telomerase at the end of the chromosome. That's why you wanted Chase. With his parents history of cancer cells which have a unnatural ability to retain telomerase he would be the perfect subject. What I don't get is how you managed to actually _do_ it."

Franklison looked sideways at House and said admiringly, "you really are just as smart as they say you are." House was not impressed in the least. After all he already knew he was that smart, it was everyone else that hadn't figured it out yet. "Well as to the answer to how, I'd better show you."

They were back in Cuddy's office, Robbie was asleep on her couch, where she had placed him. He'd cried himself out in the chapel and after he'd seemed to calm down he drifted a bit into sleep. Instead of waking him she'd gently lifted him and placed him half on her hip supporting his back. Sleepily he'd wrapped an arm around her neck and clung to her. He smelled of coconut and soap, House's shampoo. Robbie wasn't light, in fact he was getting heavier by the minute and she almost had to stop and put him down but they were almost there. The truth of the matter was that she liked that heavy warmth. That's was she was missing and what she wanted with her own child. She had to wonder if she could be a good mother. It was easy to be a mother for a few hours but she wondered if she would always be that way. How many nights might she miss working late or fixing some emergency. The truth was that she wasn't sure she would be able to put her child first.

As she stared at Robbie, who lay on the couch with his mouth open breathing softly and golden hair falling into his eyes, she wondered what would happen if they couldn't turn the clock back, or forward rather. She sat on the very edge of the sofa causing it to dip a bit. Stroking Robbie's hair softly she contemplated adoption and older children who were more self reliant.

This, this is what House was looking for. The back of the warehouse was sleek and shiny, it was obvious that Frankilson had poured every penny he could find into his research. There was no second hand junk or used merchandise. Whatever went wrong it most likely wasn't from a burnt out circuit or a faulty wire. Figured that the fix wouldn't be that easy.

"The FOY is very endothermic. Once the catalyst pushes the reaction into going it continues to absorb energy from the surrounding tissue. I slowly add electricity into the tissue to facilitate the reaction."

"You electrocuted him?"

Frankilson turned and glared as Wilson briefly, "It was less than fifty volts. Most of dispersed around his skin. No it wasn't enough to damage him, and that is the problem I believe. There wasn't enough energy to sustain the reaction on that alone."

"It started to break down the cells." House's voice filled with awe and knowledge as he thought out loud and figured out what had happened. "As Chase's mass reduced the chemical modified the cell structure and turned back the clock. The brain cells. The most complicated organ in the body and the least understood is the brain. Rather than break down the cells it might have used the electrons firing in the brain to sustain the reaction there and that could be what affected his memory bringing it to the same age as his body." House paced a bit and waved his cane wildly. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that House was right. When House spoke with that tone, confidence exuding from every pore, no one doubted him because he was never wrong. "Now." House's voice was filled with self satisfaction at a puzzled solved. "What I want to know is how do we fix it? How do we change Robbie back into Chase?"

Frankilson backed up two spaces close to a lab table that he could easily slip between himself and House. "We can't."


	7. Teach me to be a child

Inner Child 7/?

It was a despondent group that trouped into Cuddy's office. She looked up sharply and stood, flustered, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her skirt—as if embarrassed about being seen softer. "What happened?" She asked in a low voice as she glanced at Robbie to make sure he was still asleep.

House looked the grimmest of all. "I found the right guy, but he doesn't know how to change Chase-light back." House flopped, in as much as he was able to, into Cuddy's desk chair. A stack of weighty papers landed on her desk in a similar manner. "He gave up every iota of his research." House sported a brief vulture like smile before it smoothed down into a scowl, "but from first glance there isn't a way to change Robbie back. At least not without frying him into the extra crispy category."

"Well if there really isn't a way, we need to report this to the police, we can't just let this go unreported."

"Actually, that's the last thing we need to do. Even if we can't change the Pipsqueak the government can still do testing and dissection to their hearts content. He has to stay off the radar." Cuddy was starting to get a bad feeling about this. House had stopped calling Robbie by nick names after the first four days or so, why he was starting again was worrying. "It'll be hard to find a permanent placement for him without the government involved but I'm sure you can find a way."

"No!" Robbie sprung up from his place on the couch.

"Faker!' House exclaimed at him.

"You can't get rid of me! Haven't I done everything you never even asked of me?" The anger was quickly dissipating and House squirmed uncomfortably under the watery gaze of the 12 year. "Haven't I taken good care of you?" Robbie looked around frightened at being sent away, "I can do better! I'll – I'll find new recipes! And I'll get a job! Earn my keep, please, please you can't send me away!" The sight of Robbie begging would warm any heart, and contrary to popular belief house did have one, though from the stares he was getting everyone seemed quite intent on forcing him to admit it. Problem was that what Robbie wanted and what he needed were two different things.

"Robbie, it's not what you've been doing. You're a great little boy, smart and hard working, and you deserve someone better than me. You deserve to be a little boy, not tied at home taking care of a curmudgeony old man."

"Those people are berks! They don't understand at all! They think sugar cookies fix emotional pain and that white lies will unbreak a heart. You've always told me the truth and shown me the real world. You need to learn how to be an adult and I need to learn how to be a child! Why can't we learn together?"

"Robbie—It's just that the world doesn't work that way-"

Robbie cut in eyes flashing with anger, "I hear what they say about you, breaking rules and not caring about what happens, or what people think! Why does it now suddenly matter? Why does now have to be conventional and average when everything in your life that you've fought for has been to be different and unique?"

"You're afraid to care because you might get hurt, that the pain in your leg will become less than the pain in your heart." Robbie walked around the desk, "don't you see? I need you to fix me, but you need me to fix you." Then Robbie climbed up and held on to House dearly, as if to transfer his surety into House via osmosis.

Looking around it was clear that he would have to agree to let Robbie stay with him, at least if he didn't want to be hung. Cameron looked about ready to search out some pitchforks and Cuddy seemed to be searching her pockets for a lighter. "Okay Robbie. Okay. Tell ya what we'll give it a go. Probation if you will. See what happens."

"Deal!"

"There are some provisos."

Robbie nodded eagerly. "School a must. Church you can go if you want, but you will not drag me with you. There shall be no after school jobs until you are at least 15." Robbie was nodding so violently that House worried about whip lash, this was also the perfect time to sneak in a few extras, "and I will control my own medication."

Robbie started to nod, but stopped frowning, "I don't know. How bout we put you on a three month probation and re-evaluate you then?" Robbie's eyes were twinkling merrily though and eagerly started to tickle him deciding that squealing little boys weren't nearly so annoying when they were your own.


	8. Leaving the Nest

Merry Christmas!!! I worked extra hard to get this to ya'll after desperately finishing two hats, a stocking and sweater for various relatives. I hope you guys really like it and be sure to read the Authors Notes at the bottom (no peeking!)

It was three months into Robbie's trial period and things seemed to be ironing themselves out. Robbie's desperate attempts to placate House by bending in any direction had finally given way to an actual personality, which had led to some rather spectacular fights.

From Wilson's perspective Robbie was nothing but a good influence. House was eating better and acting more mature (if only slightly), the number of pills he was taking was greatly reduced and Wilson had the perfect present for Robbie, to thank him for all the work he was doing—his own room.

Wilson knew that a number of the fights had started from lack of personal space on Robbie's part. Living in the communal room meant he had no where of his own to go to when he got frustrated or even wanted to sleep when House wasn't. Wilson knew that Robbie wouldn't bring it up, too afraid of having House seriously consider that it was too much work to bother, and it wasn't something that Robbie could do for himself, he was much too young to have a land lord speak to him, so Wilson went and did the leg work.

And he was sure he found the perfect place. Ground floor, no steps, there was a grocer nearby and it wasn't much more than House's current place. So Wilson hired the movers, told Robbie in advance (so that he could secretly box as much as possible without House knowing) and found himself standing on House's door step with the employees of Two Men and a Truck (which he thought sounded very gay) and ringing House's doorbell.

A sleep tousled House came to the door unashamedly in his boxers and proceeded to scratch his balls. "What'ere ya doin' here?"

"You must be waking up, you multi tasking yawning and scratching your balls. Let us in your moving."

"I'm what?"

Wilson shouldered past House and gestured the two reluctant men in. "Start loading the furniture, I'll work on getting the rest packed up." When they didn't move Wilson snapped "Now!" at them to prod them and remind them that he was the one paying.

"You heard me House. Do you honestly expect to stay here and raise a child, who lives on your couch? You must see that he needs his own room, his own bed. Most of the fights that you have would be eliminated if he just had somewhere that was his. Now I found you a nice two bedroom, first floor, with a shower stall bathroom, it's only a little more than this place, so there's no reason to complain. So suck it up and help me sort these things into boxes."

House paused thinking over what Wilson said and was started to realize that he was right about the fights, that Robbie really did need his own space, that it was more than time for a change. Rather than thank Wilson, after all House never thanked anybody and meant it, he started to sort and pack.

Robbie seeing House's acceptance of the plan started to quietly help where he could.

Wilson stumbled across a sheath of papers. It took him a moment to place them and realize that it was all the information on Chase's downsizing. At first House had poured over them constantly, but as the weeks passed they were brought out less and less, and Wilson hadn't seem them in practically a month. "House?" He held up the papers in question.

House looked at them for a moment and tilted his head in thought. "I don't think we need 'em. Lets put them in storage." Wilson nodded approvingly and packed them in the appropriate box.

The End

keels over as a thousand voices cry out in unison

Okay now hold on. There's a sequel! Yes, indeed!. A collection of snapshots of Robbie growing up a second time. To save everyone's sanity I will be posted each completed short under the story title of Childhood Redux as a chapter. So there will be more! Maybe even some missing scenes from these last few months. Anyway that's all I have to say about that.


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